Little Dominiques Nosebleed

Before 2020, the Koreatown Oddity (rapper/producer Dominique Purdy) was known for donning an outlandish wolf mask and releasing bugged-out, abstract lo-fi hip-hop primarily on cassette, including a series of annual beat tapes coinciding with each Chinese New Year. On his second Stones Throw LP, he removes his cartoonish disguise and writes a fascinating autobiography, vividly portraying his upbringing in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles. The self-produced album is a dense, psychedelic epic loaded with surprise left turns, playful nostalgia, and supporting roles by an extensive cast of guests, with an ambitious scope and surreal sense of humor recalling masters like Prince Paul, Madlib, and the Pharcyde. The cover art plainly spells out the albums plot: Purdy was in two car accidents as a child, causing him to have constant nosebleeds, and these early traumas shaped his perspective on life, as well as his spiritual awareness. Both incidents are chronicled through the albums title tracks -- on Little Dominiques Nosebleed Part 1, Sudan Archives plays the boys mother, screaming at the careless dum-dum who crashed into her car, then trying to calm young Dominique during his frequent hospital visits. Part 2 starts out as a frantic ice cream truck run before Dominique gets hit by a car and breaks his leg, causing his life to flash before his eyes and making his nosebleeds more severe. Despite these horrific events, as well as the unsteadiness and alienation of growing up black in a turbulent, rapidly changing neighborhood, he stays hopeful through it all, following his fathers advice about chasing the spirit. Humor is crucial to this heady life journey, and Purdy gets in a few killer jabs (Im a visionary and you blind as Ronnie Milsap!), then invites several friends to hilariously free-associate about doing dumb things for publicity over the Halloween sound effects breaks of Attention Challenge. The Worlds Smallest Violin sums up what makes this album so remarkable, with trippy, unconventional production (stuttering breakbeats, buttery strings) supporting Purdys strong, confident rhymes about chasing ones dreams with no hesitation. ~ Paul Simpson